London, March 2 (RHC)-- A British container ship has sunk in the Red Sea almost two weeks after it came under attack by Yemen’s Armed Forces.  The Yemeni army said it attacked the Rubymar on February 18th, with several naval missiles in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — a strategic waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The cargo ship had been drifting northward when it came under attack.  Yemen said the Rubymar sank late Friday as stormy weather took hold over the Red Sea.

The cargo ship was abandoned for 12 days, even after Yemen warned that the vessel “is in a tragic situation and is on the verge of sinking after water leaked into the engine room.”  Yemeni officials had warned about “a major environmental disaster if it sinks.”  

Yemen has targeted ships either owned by the Israeli regime or sailing toward Israeli ports in a strong gesture sympathetic to Palestinians in Gaza over the past few months.

The Yemenis have made it clear that they will not hesitate to carry out qualitative operations against all hostile targets in defense of their homeland and in reaffirmation of their unwavering support for the Palestinian nation.  They said earlier that strikes targeting those ships in the Red Sea will not stop unless the regime ends its genocidal campaign.

International shipping companies, however, are safe to sail in the area if they are neither owned by Israel nor destined for ports in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to the Yemeni Armed Forces.